Crash Zone

Photo by Amber Sweigart

This scene is very familiar to me. The sand. The waves. My favorite place in the world to be. I wish I could spend all summer just sitting here. I praise God that he made something so wonderful, so beautiful. While at home #1 recently, I was explaining for the thousandth time that I was unemployed. What started out as a walk of faith has become more difficult and frustrating with each, "Have you found a job yet?" Hey, guess what....it is only JUNE! Apparently people forget that schools do not post jobs the same as other fields. Anyway, back to the waves. The person I was talking to described this season as the "crash zone." For those of you who have not spent a large amount of time in the ocean, let me give a quick explanation. There are days when the sea is rough. The waves are great but they continually roll in. There is not much chance to get into the water in a safe place. Often on these days, you get stuck right where the waves keep crashing, hardly having time to breath. One wave after another. You can't swim past to where the waves don't crash but now you also can't get out onto land because of the constant waves. That spot is the "crash zone." You are just being pummeled by wave after wave. I have never found this place fun. It scares me actually. If I get caught there, I find a way out of the ocean as quickly as possible and I stay out the rest of the day. So ironically, now I am in a stage of life named after my least favorite experience in the ocean. I am in the "crash zone." No, I don't have a job, YET. No, I don't have a boyfriend, YET. No, I don't know what I want a master's in (if I even decided to go back), YET. Yes, I keep getting rejections from employers. Thus the life of a young adult stuck in the "crash zone."

Yet, you know what I realized also while at home #1 recently. How beautiful the "crash zone" is. I heard the analogy, thought it was perfect and moved on, without stopping to think about how beautiful the real "crash zone" is. When you look at it from afar, you can see the beauty. Even while in the mist of the "crash zone" (especially if the waves are more like knee high instead of 6 footers). There is beauty. How often I have forgotten that, especially recently. I thank God that I had the chance to spend some alone time on the beach my last day at home #1. The water was actually tolerable (surprising for June) so I stood there, about waist high and let the baby waves crash on me. It hit me in those moments as I praised God for his creation and thanked him for creating waves that I made the connection between the beauty I was thanking God for and the beauty that I know is in even my life's "crash zone." I need to be more like the girl pictured below. She is playing in the "crash zone." Enjoying it even. I haven't been doing that. I have been depressed, mad, frustrated, and all around not a happy person to be around. I might be saying, "I trust God," but I wasn't truly trusting. If I had been, I would have been much more joyful from knowing that God had it under control. 

Take a minute, look at the pictures, and pray. Maybe you too are in a "crash zone" or maybe someone close to you is. Maybe you have just forgotten to dance in the rain or play in the waves of life. Maybe you need to kick up the thankfulness or maybe you just want to praise God for his creation. Whatever is on your heart, take a moment and reflect on that before you move on to your next blog to read :)  I know you will be blessed by that moment. I know I have been. 

Photo by Amber Sweigart

Photo by Amber Sweigart